“What’s wrong?”I ask him through the bond.
“Run. Find Emeric. He’ll take you somewhere safe.”
“I don’t want to leave you. What’s happening?”
“The curse—every male here can smell you. You’ve become obsessively desirable to them. Since you’re the unmarked mate of the strongest alpha who has ever lived, every male here wants a taste of you to try to change your mind before I make you mine. Run. Find Emeric. He’ll hide you away while I deal with these beasts.”
It’s a command I feel through my entire body—an alpha command. His power must be immense if he can command those not in his pack.
I turn and run through the circle and into the forest, hoping Emeric will find me. I won’t be able to outrun a wolf shifter who wants me, and Ambrose can’t take down fourteen alphas and hundreds of others on his own.
So I run for my life.
Chapter 11
Lumi
Run. Find Emeric.
The words blaze through me, forcing my legs to sprint through the woods and my eyes to brighten in the dark, darting around to look for Emeric through the trees and thick brush. My body obeys his command automatically—I don’t have a choice.
But even if I did have a choice, I would choose running. I’m not sure I trust Emeric. Last time I trusted him he locked me in a cave, I ended up as an offering, and am now running for my life. A tiny part of me hopes I don’t find Emeric.
I run as fast as my legs will take me despite branches carving into my bare skin with every step. Even running at full speed, having a head start, and Ambrose trying to hold them off, I hear male shifters behind me.
The curse—every male here can smell you. You’ve become obsessively desirable to them.…
I glance up at the moon—fuck the full moon, not allowing me to shift.
The sound of crunching leaves under running paws pounds in my ears. As they push their bodies to their limits, their deep panting grows louder, as do their howling and whining.
I don’t dare glance behind me. If I do, the fear will overtake me. I can’t think about what they will do if they catch me. Their own sexual desires combined with their wolf instincts to make me their mate will overpower any common sense.
I run faster, as if my human legs are capable of outrunning their wolf ones. But maybe Ambrose’s alpha command was strong enough to make me run faster. He is the most powerful alpha—maybe he sent some of that power my way.
Closer and closer, I hear their heavy paws shrink the gap at my heels until I can feel the ground shaking under my own feet. A howl pierces through the cool air, and its nearness makes me jump.
I have seconds left before I’m caught.
Closing my eyes, I let myself succumb to my emotions as I catch my breath, leaning against a large tree trunk. The only chance I have to save myself now is to shift. My fear is at the front of my mind, but so is my shame, my sadness, my excitement, and my hot, wicked desire for an alpha I just met, my mate—Ambrose.
I let thoughts of him flood my mind—his thick black hair with glowing gold specks that I want to run my hands through, his lips that I have yet to kiss, his muscles that I need to feel contracting over me, and his cock that I refuse to die without feeling inside me.
My eyes pop open a second later. The emotions weren’t enough. I can’t shift, and I might never be able to. And if I can’t shift, then I can’t be marked as Ambrose’s mate. I can’t break the curse. But more importantly, I’ll never be a bonded wolf. I’ll continue to be an outcast or worse.
I’ve failed.
I fall to the ground as a wolf shifter lands on top of me—his weight crushing my frail, naked body. The ground, leaves, and twigs dig into the flesh of my stomach, breasts, and arms. But allI can think about is the fur pressing against me, the sharp teeth snapping at my back, and the wet nose nestling against my neck just under my ear.
He wants me. I can feel his desire, even without a bond or a word between us.
“No, please, no,” I whisper, a tear rolling down my cheek. I don’t know the rules of the mating bond. I don’t know how to break the curse. But I do know that Ambrose was hesitant to accept me as his when he found out I couldn’t shift. If another claimed me, my true mate might never accept me.
Sharp canines scrape over the skin of my shoulder.
“No, I’m not your mate!” I cry out. You can’t change your mate. You can’t change who you are destined to be with. No amount of lust, love, or desire can do that.
I won’t survive if he sinks his teeth into my skin. Without the curse taking me, a wolf’s bite can easily be lethal to humans when they go for the jugular. And he will—his instincts will take over. He’s a predator; I’m prey.
